Opening Song: 「Manazashi Daydream」 by Sakai Yuu


This show hasn’t had a strong opening sequence since season 1. Paris-hen’s and Finale’s just don’t live up to “Allegro Cantabile.” With that said, this isn’t a bad OP. The song is rather upbeat and fun and it’s music-related to boot. The visuals are nice as well though I don’t get what the hell the pilgrim scene is supposed to mean. That looked really out of place in this opening. Oh, and I did like the logo used which is a tribute to the live action series if I’m not mistaken.

The next (and final) season of Nodame Cantabile is here at last. And this season immediately jumps back into the frey of things where Paris-hen left off. Chiaki is still with the Roux-Marlet orchestra and they seem to be rising in popularity with Chiaki in the spotlight with his superb conducting and piano techniques. Nodame is in awe of this at the concert and feels a certain “unfairness” between the level of skill between. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised she’s only realizing this now because I thought the gap has always been apparent. Perhaps it’s because she realizes that she’s nowhere close to realizing her dream to perform with him. Deciding to take the initiative, bebe-chan decides to enter a tournament, but her teacher denies it. From the dialogue, it seems that the reason for that is because the only goal in Nodame’s mind is to perform with Chiaki. Once she realizes that, she’ll have nothing left. I guess the teacher wants her to take the slow route to grow and seek more possibilities. Anyways, for now she’ll be having her first concert. For some reason the cosplay concert at the end of the second season doesn’t count.

One of the things I love about the Nodame Cantabile series is that it has strong humor and this episode showcased that aspect well. From the classic mukya’s and gyabo’s to Yun Long almost falling for Chiaki, the laugh out loud moments were abundant in this episode. Nodame’s character in particular was highlighted in this first episode. And I have a feeling this final season will be more focused on her whereas in Paris-hen it was more about Chiaki and his time with the new orchestra. Of course, Chiaki and Nodame’s relationship is on going aspect and will continue to be, especially since this is the finale.

Anyways, it’s great to be back watching this show again. I know I’m going to have fun watching and blogging this series and hopefully it’ll be something to remember. The portrayal of classical music in the first season of Nodame Cantabile inspired me to appreciate the genre more and I’m expecting this season to do the same. Looking forward to the pieces that will be showcased in future episodes~

Ending Song: 「Kaze to Oka no Ballad」 by Real Paradis with Nodame Orchestra


Pretty nice song. I can see myself listening to this quite a bit when the single is released. The vocals and beat have a soft, melodic ring to it which works well as a closer. The visuals are decent. Great to see the Noda Mongoose again. Reminds me of Crystal Kay’s “Konna ni Chikaku de..” The random cutscene inserts were.. random. It’s like the production staff couldn’t think of anything to put in between. They could have done more Noda Mongoose!